NBA Playoff Betting – (2) Rockets at (3) Clippers (Game 3)

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (-4.5, 216.5 o/u)

After missing the first two games in the series, point guard Chris Paul is once again a game time decision as his Los Angeles Clippers (56-26, 30-11 Home) host the Houston Rockets (56-26, 26-15 Away) tonight in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals at the STAPLES Center (10:30 PM Eastern Time). The teams split the first two games of the series in Houston.

Paul worked out on Thursday according to several reports, but there’s no official word on whether he will play or not. The Clippers took Game 1 on the strength of a triple-double from Blake Griffin, but Paul’s absence was more palpable in Game 2, especially in crunch time where Los Angeles’ offense looked leaderless at times.

The Clippers took a nine-point lead into half but wound up falling 115-109, evening the series at one game each.

Said power forward Blake Griffin, “Definitely feels like we let one get away. We came here to win two, but we’re going back with home court now. Got to protect home court.”

For the Rockets, getting the win on their home floor was key to staying in the series. Leading scorer and NBA MVP-runner up James Harden sounded relieved after the win.

“We let Game 1 slip away and we didn’t want that feeling for Game 2,” said Harden. “It’s going to be a tough two games in a row, but we’ve got our mojo now.”

One of the biggest keys to the Rockets’ win was getting to the charity stripe. Houston went to the free-throw line 64 times in Game 2, twice as many as Los Angeles.

In the trends, the Clippers are 12-4 SU in their last 16 against Houston, and 7-1 SU in the last eight of those at STAPLES. Though Paul remains questionable for tonight, the Clippers have looked surprisingly good without their floor general and were excellent at home all year (30-11).

Pick: Clippers -4.5.

(Photo credit: 2O (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)